The Throne of Caesar
Written by Steven Saylor
Narrated by John Curless
4.5/5
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About this audiobook
Steven Saylor
Steven Saylor is the author of the long running Roma Sub Rosa series featuring Gordianus the Finder, as well as the New York Times bestselling novel, Roma and its follow-up, Empire. He has appeared as an on-air expert on Roman history and life on The History Channel. Saylor was born in Texas and graduated with high honors from The University of Texas at Austin, where he studied history and classics. He divides his time between Berkeley, California, and Austin, Texas.
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Reviews for The Throne of Caesar
36 ratings6 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Bummef. Fell asleep will not let me hear the ending.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An interesting conclusion to a mystery series, in that it's not much of a mystery. Gordianus is asked to look into two cases by three people: the possibility of a plot against Julius Caesar as the Ides of March approaches, and a threat or a warning outside the door of his drinking companion, Helvius Cinna. However, he finds no trace of the plot to assassinate Caesar until it inevitably happens, and doesn't conduct any real investigation of the word written outside of Cinna's door until after Cinna is murdered, as in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, apparently having been mistaken for the other Cinna. So, I'm not entirely convinced this is a mystery novel. It is, however, a very successful historical novel, managing to build suspense around events that all of already know will come to pass, with a fine touch for dramatic irony. And it is a good farewell to Gordianus and his family. I don't know if Saylor will ever write any stories of investigations conducted by Eco or Diana and Davus; it's understood that all of them will carry on the family business, but Eco has been planning to do so for so long that I would have expected him to have taken a starring role by now if he was ever going to do so. If he does, I will be happy to return to this version of ancient Rome.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5How does one make a mystery of the death of Julius Caesar, which was never a mystery? Gordianus the Finder is asked by Caesar to investigate a list of men. He can use his coming appointment to the Senate as an excuse to question the high-ranking men, on the excuse of needing a senatorial toga on short notice. In the meantime his adopted son is appalled that he is unfamiliar with the poem Zmyrna, a rewriting of a Greek myth of father/daughter incest by the poet Cinna. When Cinna is killed in the riots following Caesar's funeral a new mystery develops--who killed Cinna and why and what has become of his body? The solution is shocking.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This is the 13th and final novel in the author's long running murder mystery series featuring the 1st century BC Roman sleuth Gordianus the Finder. Having delayed this finale by going back into the character's youth in three prequel novels, Saylor tackles the most famous murder in all history - that of Julius Caesar himself on the Ides of March 44 BC. Hardly a mystery, of course, though another murder is tacked onto the story at a late stage, taking place at Caesar's funeral. I must say I found the background explanation to this murder a bit hard to swallow, and overall, though the novel is very well written as ever, I thought its pacing was rather uneven, with quite long stretches where the plot does not advance, but a lot of poetry is declaimed and analysed. I will miss Gordianus and his eclectic family though, and I am sure a re-read of the early novels in this great series will be in order at some point before too long.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I have been reading Steven Saylor's Roma Sub Rosa series about Gordianus the Finder since the first book which was released in 1991. His works have been translated into many languages and he's noted as one of the leading ancient Rome authorities in the world. His breadth of knowledge, his love of his era and his excellent writing skills have placed this series of fiction up in the higher echelons of crime fiction. Gordianus the Finder has long been one of my favourite protagaonists, but as I was reading all the books, I really wanted to see how Saylor would handle the assination of Julius Caesar. That is what this book gave me. Gordianus is just a few days short of his 66 birthday. He has amassed a fortune during his eventful life, and we see him on the cusp of becoming a senator, appointed by Caesar. The book is set over only a few days is March, of course with the dreaded Ides in the middle. For those who have read and loved Shakespeare's version of Caesar's death, you won't find many surprises here, but as always, I think Shakespeare took a few liberties with the actual historical facts. Saylor's version is based on his extensive studies of this period, and he offers this work of fiction to more fully describe what led up to and what happened after the ignominious deed done by some rebel Roman senators. This is a bloody story for sure, but Saylor's plotting skills and characterization abilities lift the book up from just a bloody pulp story to one that shows humanity as it really is. It shows how we can be led and probed to do things that we wouldn't think we'd be capable of. It shows greed and depravity at its very worst. It also shows the strength and resiliency of the human race. I am sorry to see the end of this wonderful series and I've thoroughly enjoyed all 16 books in the series, and I recommend the entire series highly to anyone who enjoys historical mysteries and the sub rosa era as much as I do. Steven Saylor does not ever disappoint.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I have really just started Steven Saylor's latest - he is one of my favorites - I think I may have read most if not all of his books. If you get a chance try to get to one of the venues where he'll be promoting, you will thank yourself..[in progress]